Civic official suspended over obscene dance programme at fair in MP

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government has suspended Mandsaur’s chief municipal officer in connection with an alleged obscene dance performed by some people at an animal fair organised by the local civic body, an official said on Tuesday.

A video of the purported dance programme, held on Sunday evening during the ‘Maa Mahishasur Mardini Devi Mela’ in Shamgarh town, some 70 km from the Mandsaur district headquarters, surfaced on social media platforms.

In the clip, a woman was seen dancing to the tune of an obscene song. The pictures of state cabinet minister Hardeep Singh Dang and Maa Mahishasur Mardini Devi were seen on a banner in the background.

After the incident, Dang had written a letter to state Urban Administration Minister Bhupendra Singh demanding action against Mandsaur’s chief municipal officer Nasir Ali Khan, saying ”the programme hurt the religious sentiments of people”.

Subsequently, Mandsaur collector was asked to submit a report over the matter. Based on the report, Ujjain’s Divisional Commissioner Sandeep Yadav issued an order on Monday to suspend Khan, the official said.

The suspension order said, “The pictures of Maa Mahishasur Mardini Devi and elected representatives were displayed on the stage where the obscene dance was organised. An orchestra programme was allowed freely by the chief municipal officer, Nasir Ali Khan, without knowing its outline. This shows the official’s carelessness.”